Shadow of Death
by JillRJohnson
Summary: NEW PROLOGUE! Peyton, Lucas, Brooke and Brooke's boyfriend Jason go on a crosscountry road trip. What happens when Brooke and Peyton find themselves alone and hunted?
1. Prologue

-1AUTHOR's NOTE: This will be mostly a Breyton frienship fic, it's going to be a Hitcher-like thriller based on the One Tree Hill characters. Jason is my own character. There will be horror scenes in this story and there could be character death…I don't know yet. Anyway…here's the prologue…I'd love reviews and just a word to see who's interested in the continuation of this story. Thank y'all!!! - Jill

**SHADOW OF DEATH**

Prologue

Darkness, fear, the stench of coppery-scented blood. It burned her nostrils as she made her way through the menagerie of dead men. Her stomach churned as she felt almost thankful for their deaths, but it wretched as she realized she was the reason they were dead.

Three of them, various gunshot wounds to their bodies. All died faster than they could frown, so they still had the same sick, lustful grins on their faces they had just moments before. Brooke continued to move. She couldn't feel bad or guilty for these men she didn't even know. She had to get to Peyton. She could hear her screaming outside. She knew that he was also outside. He, as in the man they had come to fear the most. She had to get to Peyton before he did.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Peyton ran as fast as she could. Her twisted ankle throbbed as she stumbled up the hill. She stopped and turned to survey the ground below. She could see his outline outside the store. He wasn't coming for her, he was going for Brooke. Peyton couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't. She screamed again. Loudly, and longer than before. She could hear the desperation in her own voice. She had to get to Brooke before he did. Somehow.

She leaned forward on a rock and surveyed the situation. Everything was clear from this distance because of the fullness of the moon. She could see his shadowy outline against the backdrop of the store. He blended with it. She knew Brooke wouldn't be able to see him.

Peyton thought briefly of the moments they were together inside the store. The entire thing had been straight from a horror movie. Peyton could still feel the warm blood on her face. Not her blood but that of a stranger. Peyton remembered Brooke's face as two of the three men had tried to attack her. Peyton's own anger that she couldn't stop them. But he had. He had stopped them because he wanted to kill Peyton and Brooke for himself.

She moved toward the store. Something had to be done. She was tired of running tired of being scared. She just wished Lucas and Jason were still around. They would have been able to save them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brooke's foot slipped and slid in the various puddles of intermingling blood. She forgot not to look and glanced down at the biggest of the three dead men. A hole in his forehead gave her a glimpse into carnage. A small sob escaped her mouth and she quickly covered it with a dirt-streaked hand. She shook from head to toe and wondered briefly how they had gotten here.

"Brooke!"

Her voice sliced through Brooke's fear. Peyton was somewhere out there, alone, scared. Brooke tried to see out of the convenience store window. Darkness except for two headlights. She knew it was Peyton's car.

Brooke found the door and pushed it open. The cool desert air wrapped around her bare legs and for a moment she wished she hadn't worn shorts. She looked to the left and the right. She could feel his presence without seeing him. She saw someone running toward her from the hills surrounding the gas station. It was Peyton.

"Brooke! He's right…"

His hands wrapped around Brooke's waist and dragged her toward Peyton's car. It was running, ready to go. Brooke fought with all of her strength but was no match for him. Before Peyton could reach them, he was pulling away from the gas station. Dust clouds darkened the area around Peyton. Brooke watched her as she and their monster drove away. She prayed she would see Peyton again someday.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**84 HOURS EARLIER**

"Two weeks, Peyton! Can you believe it? Two whole weeks of open road and loud music."

Peyton smiled at Lucas as they loaded Peyton's 1963 Mercury Comet with duffel bags and snack food. His enthusiasm for their planned road trip with Brooke and her new boyfriend was contagious. They were all college-bound in two months. The summer trip across the country was an idea created by Lucas and Jason, Brooke's boyfriend.

"I bet you and Jason could have fun without me and Brooke," Peyton grinned.

Lucas closed the trunk and turned to the curly blonde next to him. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, kissing her gently. When he let his lips drift away from hers, she still had her eyes closed. It was his turn to smile.

"Are you and Brooke going to be okay?" Lucas asked, that old nervous glint in his eyes.

Peyton shrugged, "I think we can be civil, at least."

Lucas nodded, "It's weird for you isn't it?"

"Not really," Peyton said as they got into the car, Lucas in the driver's seat, "I mean, it is strange that you and Brooke's boyfriend became fast friends, but the weird part is how Brooke can't seem to forgive me, even though she's moved on."

Lucas nodded as he started the car, "All women are strange."

They both laughed as Peyton slapped him on the arm. Lucas pulled away from the curb. They were headed to their next destination, Jason's house, to pick up Brooke and Jason.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brooke watched Jason as he lugged the last bag to the curb. She couldn't figure out how she had managed to get so lucky. He was everything she had been looking for, without ever having known she was looking for him. He was six foot one inch with dirty blonde hair, steely blue eyes, chiseled jaw, and more muscles than Brooke could count. She smiled at him and he smiled back, his pearly white smile shining his total infatuation and adoration of Brooke. It wasn't just his looks that Brooke loved, even more than that, it was his kindness, his gentlemanly behavior, it was the fact that she wasn't ready to have sex with him and he had no problems with that whatsoever.

Brooke loved him for being able to hold her all night without once asking for more, without bullying her into something she didn't want to do, without acting upset with her. He was well aware of the girl she once had been, but admired and worshipped the woman she was becoming. Brooke had changed so much in recent months, she knew that her parents would be proud of her, if they even cared.

"I love you, Jason Foster."

He sat down on the curb and pulled her down to sit next to him. He breathed in the fresh scent of her soap and shampoo. Her hair was still damp, hanging loosely to her shoulders. She wore a simple outfit of jeans, tennis shoes, and t-shirt, but to Jason she was a princess, his queen.

He kissed her sweetly on the cheek, "I love you too."

"Are you and Peyton going to be okay?"

Brooke flinched slightly at the mention of Peyton's name. She shrugged and shielded her eyes from the morning sun, "I guess so."

"I know the story behind the original argument, by why the hesitation to forgive and forget now?"

Brooke bit the side of her mouth in thought. She pondered the question and pictured Peyton's face. They had been through so much together, and just as much apart. Brooke knew that she wanted more than anything to completely mend her friendship with Peyton, but she wasn't sure how. She didn't want to be the one to give in.

"Maybe she and I can work on it on this trip."

Jason studied Brooke's face carefully, "You miss her, don't you?"

"You have no idea how much. She was like my sister, we were sister orphans growing up," Brooke smiled at the thought.

Before they could continue the conversation, Peyton's black car came into view. Brooke sighed and let Jason help her off the sidewalk. They gathered their bags in their hands and smiled as Peyton and Lucas pulled up to them.

"Are we ready, or are we ready?" Lucas said as he high-fived Jason and opened the trunk.

"We are so ready," Jason grinned.

Brooke looked at Peyton, "Hi, Peyton."

Peyton smiled at her, "Hey Brooke."

They smiled at each other for a mere second before realizing how odd they must look to the other. It was then that they realized the next two weeks were going to change their lives forever. They just didn't know how.


	2. Mirrors and Smoke

-1Chapter 1

The music blared as they cruised the interstate. The four teens had been on the road for five hours, stopping only once for a bathroom break. Peyton and Lucas occupied the front seat while Brooke and Jason leaned against each other in the back seat. Lucas was still driving while Peyton was half turned in her seat so she could talk to everyone.

"I'm hungry," Brooke whined from the back seat.

Lucas shook his head, "No way! We're not stopping for lunch. I thought we agreed that we wouldn't stop until we got to the motel tonight."

Jason heard Brooke's stomach rumble despite the wind swirling around them, "I could eat too man."

Lucas groaned, "Not you too, come on! We could make it to Birmingham in record time if we keep moving."

Peyton looked at Brooke in the back seat. She looked a little pale, and something told Peyton to side with her oldest friend, "Hey Luke, it wouldn't hurt to stop somewhere for like thirty minutes and eat would it?"

Lucas smiled at Peyton, "You know I can't say no to you. Alright, alright, we'll stop and eat!"

Brooke perked up in the back seat, "Yay!"

They pulled into the gravel parking lot of the next restaurant they came to. The parking lot held only three other cars. It was a small rundown barbecue place aptly named "Nowhere BBQ". Lucas turned off the engine and they all breathed in the deep, mouth-watering smell of southern barbecue.

"Damn, that smells awesome," Jason said rubbing his stomach.

Lucas nodded, "No kidding. It's making me hungrier than I thought I was. He wrapped his arm around Peyton's waist and followed Brooke and Jason into the restaurant. They entered into the midst of delicious smells. BBQ and Baked beans occupied the plate of the only other customer in the place.

Brooke studied the customer. He was a man in his early forties, ruggedly handsome and a killer grin. He wore jeans and a white fitted t-shirt that showed off a healthy body. Brooke blushed when he smiled at her and she quickly turned her head away from him. Peyton watched the man as he continued to watch Brooke as she walked away.

Peyton shook her head and looked at the man, "She's too young for you."

"You think?" The man smiled and went back to eating the beans on his plate.

Peyton smiled and joined her three friends. The waitress brought them menus and took their drink orders. When she disappeared into the kitchen, Brooke finally spoke.

"This place is a total dump. But sometimes dumps have great food, right?"

Jason nodded, "It's like a law of road travel or something. The worst hole-in-the-wall place you can find to eat will definitely have the best food."

"What are you going to get?" Peyton asked Lucas as they perused the menus.

He simply said, "Chicken plate."

"I'm getting the pulled pork plate." Brooke smiled proud that she made a fast decision.

Peyton grinned at Brooke, "Sounds good. I think I'll have the same."

Jason continued to mull over the menu, "It's going to take me a minute."

Brooke rolled her eyes, "I'm going to the bathroom. If the waitress comes back order for me. Okay?"

Jason kissed her as she got up, "You got it baby."

Peyton watched as Brooke disappeared into the bathroom and glanced at the stranger eating his lunch. He had watched Brooke too. He got up and went to the restroom as well. Peyton felt a strange apprehension. She and Brooke weren't best friends, but she didn't want anything to ever happen to her.

"I think I'll go to the bathroom too," Peyton said as she got up and moved to the bathrooms.

She turned into the small hallway and saw the men's room door closing. She knew that the stranger must have gone in that room. She let out a sigh of air she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She shook it off and went into the bathroom. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Brooke trying to stick herself with a needle.

"Brooke!" Peyton scared the brunette, "What in the hell are you doing?"

"Shhhh!" Brooke hissed, her hand shaking with the needle, "Do you want the whole world to hear you?"

Peyton looked nervously from the needle to Brooke, "Brooke? What's going on with you?"

Brooke sighed sadly, "I guess if I should tell anyone it should be you. I haven't even told Jason."

"Brooke, you don't have to if you don't want…"

"No, I do, Peyton. I've missed talking to you about things. About four months ago I got really sick at school. I was sweating and my heart was racing…anyway, I passed out in the cafeteria."

"I heard about that. I wanted to talk to you, see how you were but we weren't…well, you know."

Brooke nodded, "Yeah. I know. Anyway. I went to the hospital and now I take shots. I'm a diabetic."

"No shit?" Peyton asked incredulously.

Brooke laughed, "No…no shit. I have to give myself shots about three times a day before meals."

"What about the doughnuts we ate?"

"I'm not really supposed to eat them, but who the hell ever does anything they're supposed to?"

Peyton smiled, "True."

Brooke lifted her shirt up and pointed the needle at her stomach, "Turn your head, I know how much you hate this stuff."

"So do you Brooke, but look how brave you've gotten," Peyton watched as the needle slid into Brooke's pale skin. Her stomach flipped but she continued to watch knowing that Brooke had been handling it all alone. She wanted to be there for her.

"Geez, that never hurts less than the last time," Brooke winced.

"I could imagine not," Peyton sympathized. "So what happens if you miss a shot?"

Brooke shrugged, "Not too much, I get a little cranky and sick to my stomach. It's when I miss two that I have problems."

"We'll make sure it doesn't happen. When do you take them?"

Brooke looked at Peyton with a smile in her eyes, "Why P. Sawyer, be careful with all the questions, someone might think you give a damn."

Peyton's head bowed slightly, "I do give a damn, Brooke. About you anyway."

Brooke nodded slightly not sure what to say, "Thanks. Can you please not tell Jason or Lucas?"

"I promise."

Brooke walked past Peyton heading out of the bathroom. Peyton grabbed her and hugged her, surprising Brooke. Brooke hesitated only a moment before hugging her old friend in return.

"I do care, Brooke, and I love you."

Peyton expected no response or reply. She just wanted Brooke to know it. Brooke could deal with it in her own way on her own time. Brooke nodded and left the bathroom with a bounce in her step. Peyton finished her business in the bathroom and exited the room. She literally ran into the stranger. She stared up into his cold steel blue eyes.

"Excuse me," she muttered.

Something about the man unnerved Peyton. She wasn't sure what it was, but he was off a degree or two from normal. He looked down at Peyton from his six foot two inch point of view and chuckled. Peyton smiled slightly and joined Brooke, Jason and Lucas at the table. They were all smiling at laughing.

Peyton forgot all about the stranger as she sat down with her friends. They were enjoying cokes and sweet tea. Peyton exchanged a knowing glance with Brooke as she took a sip of her coke. They spent the rest of their lunch uneventfully. After thirty minutes it was time to hit the road again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He walked among the destruction he had caused, proud of his efforts. The smell of barbecue was now married to the stench of death. The stranger lit a cigarette and exhaled. He knew he wouldn't be happy now until he had the young brunette he had seen earlier. He would have her and do away with the blonde, she would be his nuisance. The two boys wouldn't be a match for him. They would provide a challenge, but little more than that.

He daydreamed a moment longer about the time he would take dealing with the blonde and the brunette. Peyton and Brooke. He had heard their names and committed them to memory.

He leaned back against the service counter and inhaled another breath of smoke. He exhaled and felt some disappointment as he heard a siren in the distance heading his way. He could tell it was only one car, one cop and that's what disappointed him.

He looked at the corpse of the waitress. She had managed to call 911 before he could kill her. He didn't mind much. It always made his game more exciting for him.

He stepped outside and put his cigarette out under his boot. He waited patiently for the car to pull into the parking lot. A bumbling deputy in his early twenties almost tripped as he got out of the car. He pulled his gun on the stranger, his hand shaking immensely.

"Alright, stay right there mister."

The stranger laughed, "You got it."

With that he pulled out his own gun and shot the deputy in the middle of the forehead before the deputy could even blink.

He got into the deputy's vehicle and drove away. Nothing appeared in his rearview mirror. He had only the horizon ahead to think about, to dream about. He had listened as the group of teenagers had rejoiced over their decision to drive to California. He had listened as they had talked about which route they would be taking. He felt a sense of anxiety overcome him as he realized they were heading into a territory he knew all too well and they knew nothing about.

"This is going to be a fun ride."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The day had quickly dropped into night as they rolled into the Magic City aka Birmingham, Alabama. Peyton and Brooke had decided to share the backseat at the last bathroom break. They were now asleep as Lucas and Jason pulled off the interstate and looked for their hotel.

"So did you get the tickets?" Lucas asked looking at Jason.

Jason nodded, "Yeah, I got them. You know they're going to either kill each other, or us, right?"

Lucas laughed. "Yeah, I know. But I think by the time they reach us in California they'll so be over it."

"Or over us." Jason laughed.

"What time is our flight?"

Jason dug the tickets out of the small duffel bag at his feet. He looked it over using the glove box light, "The flight is at 7am."

"And we're leaving from the Birmingham Airport, right?"

"Yeah," Jason confirmed, "So do we just leave them a note, or do we tell them face to face?"

Lucas glanced at Jason, "Are you seriously asking that question?"

Jason smiled, "Good point, a note it is."

"We're doing the right thing, right?" Lucas asked unsure.

Jason shrugged, "We'll know in a couple of days. They'll either call thanking us, or they'll call to break up with us."

Lucas pulled into the motel parking lot and they glanced at the sleeping beauties in the back seat. He had planned it all. He and Lucas would go ahead by airplane to California while leaving Peyton and Brooke the car and the cross country trip to solve their friendship troubles. Lucas just prayed that the plan wouldn't backfire on any of them.


	3. Thou Art With Me

-1Chapter 2

Peyton awoke in the double sized bed she and Lucas had shared the previous night. She sighed as she realized how rested she felt. She and Lucas had done nothing but cuddle throughout the night, but she remembered how safe and warm and wanted she had felt in his arms. She turned in the bed to find it empty with the exception of a note written on hotel stationary.

She picked it up and began reading it. She frowned and threw the covers off of her. She slung open the motel door only to be met by Brooke standing in her pajamas, bed hair blowing in the slight balmy Birmingham breeze. They were each holding similar notes.

"Damn them," Brooke hissed through an almost-smile.

Peyton shook her head, grinning, "Clever, aren't they?"

"Dead is what they're gonna be," Brooke moved into Peyton's room. Peyton smiled after her and shut the door. They sat on the bed.

"So?" Peyton asked.

Brooke shrugged, "So what?"

"Do you want to finish the trip and meet them in California, or not?" Peyton asked.

Brooke looked thoughtfully from her note to Peyton, "They want us to be friends again, like we used to be."

"Yup," Peyton muttered.

"Do we want that?" Brooke asked, her voice soft with uncertainty.

Peyton inhaled deeply and released it slowly, "I know I do."

Brooke smiled sheepishly, "Me too."

"So…I guess we start with getting showered and dressed and then we eat."

Brooke nodded and stood, "Sounds good. I'll meet you in the car in thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes?" Peyton laughed, "It used to take you an hour to get ready."

"A lot has changed, P. Sawyerr, but we have almost 3000 miles to talk about that," Brooke smiled sadly and then left the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Go put your records on…" Brooke and Peyton sang in harmony as they flew down the interstate. They had eaten breakfast and hit the road. They had been driving for an hour, singing all the songs that came on the radio. Peyton had even enjoyed singing a verse or two of an older Britney Spears song. She hadn't even flinched when Brooke laughed at her for it.

They were having fun, but something in Peyton told her she should be asking Brooke the hard questions, like why Brooke didn't wear much makeup any more, or why she hardly ever dried her hair or what happened to all the fancy clothes she used to wear. Peyton sand another verse of Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On" and took in Brooke's appearance.

She noticed the subtle changes in Brooke, and suddenly the subtle seemed massive. Brooke's hair was still damp, she wore jeans, a t-shirt and tennis shoes. She had lost a few pounds and she was incredibly pale. Peyton thought about Brooke having diabetes and knew that the changes that she was inventorying had nothing to do with the disease. It was something emotional.

Peyton turned down the radio, "Hey Brooke, can I ask you something?"

Brooke stared ahead, watching the trees of Alabama as they sped by them, "Sure."

"Back at the motel, you said a lot has changed about you."

Brooke shifted uncomfortably in her seat, propped her elbow on the door and laid her chin in her hand, "Yeah, so?"

Peyton could feel the atmosphere around her friend change instantly, "What has changed, Brooke?"

Brooke bit her lip nervously, "You mean, besides diabetes?"

"Yeah," Peyton said, "You seem happy, but at the same time you seem like, I don't know, maybe it's not my place any more, but, you seem kind of lost…maybe even, sad?"

"I've always hated your ability to read me to my core," Brooke frowned and rolled her eyes. After a moment's silence she finally said in a lower, serious voice, "Yeah, okay, so a lot has changed for me."

Peyton swallowed hard. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what was at the heart of the knew Brooke Davis. She didn't want to know what had made those sad eyes and pulled the color from Brooke's face.

"When we stopped being friends," Brooke started, hating to bring up that time period, "The truth is I was mad at you because I needed you more than ever."

Peyton cast a sideways glance at Brooke, "You did?"

Brooke nodded and a small tear escaped her eye, "I did, but maybe we shouldn't start all of this at the beginning of the trip. I want to laugh and have fun. I don't want to remember, Peyton. Please."

The begging tone in Brooke's voice stopped Peyton's heart, "Okay. Brooke, whatever it is, we'll talk about it later. As long as you promise me we will talk about it."

Brooke looked at Peyton thankfully and nodded. She the returned her attention to the passing landscapes. Peyton chewed her bottom lip, mulling over the possible things Brooke could have told her. Peyton's curiosity and concern for her friend were overwhelming her. She turned up the radio and they cruised into the day listening to 3 Doors Down, "Changes."

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The stranger had disposed of the deputy's car long ago and was almost positive he had passed the black vintage Mercury being driven by only the blonde and the brunette. He couldn't believe his luck. He drew no attention to himself as he continued beyond them. He wouldn't play with them just yet. He wanted them on his turf, his hell.

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Day gave way to dusk and dusk to night. Brooke had been driving for three of the eight hours they had driven. They had eaten a late lunch at a drive through somewhere in Mississippi. They had made it all the way to the Texas border before finally deciding to check into a motel. Lucas and Jason had left them with a map and directions but no reservations for lodging. It was up to Brooke and Peyton to find a place to sleep for the night.

Their eyes widened and both of their heads shook from side to side as they passed a rundown side of the road motel.

"Talk about your no-tell motel," Brooke laughed as she sped up a little.

Peyton's nose crinkled in disgust, "Probably had rats and roaches bigger than the beds."

They finally found a motel in decent shape. It was a Motel 6. Cheap, but not hauntingly nasty. They both agreed and Brooke pulled into the paved parking lot. After obtaining their keys from a very kind elderly man at the front desk, they hauled one duffel bag each into their room.

"Want to order pizza?" Peyton said as she looked at a flyer on the nightstand.

Brooke sat down on the bed, her head ached and her stomach was sinking, "I could definitely eat some pizza."

"Want the usual?" Peyton asked thinking about the nights they would order midnight pizza and watch old scary movies on television, when they were friends.

Brooke looked thoughtfully at the flyer, "Yeah, extra cheese, ham and green peppers. Thick crust."

"That's the one." Peyton smiled hungrily as she picked up the phone. There was no dial tone. "Damn. I guess I'll go order it at the front desk."

Brooke looked around the room strangely apprehensive, "I can go with you."

Peyton waved her off with a hand motion, "Nah, you stay here and find us something good to watch on TV. I'll just go order it."

Brooke nodded. The look on her face made Peyton hesitate, "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course, just…it's stupid," Brooke faked a laugh.

Peyton's hand rested on the doorknob, "Brooke? What is it?"

"Just make sure you come back, okay?"

Peyton's forehead crinkled in perplexed concern, "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing," Brooke blushed, "Okay…so Jason and I watched this stupid scary movie the other day and now I hate being alone."

Peyton's instincts screamed to her that there was more to Brooke's fear than a movie, but her brain told her now was not the time to pursue it. Peyton faked a smile and shook her head.

"A movie? Brooke? Are you serious?"

Brooke shrugged, "I'll be fine. Just scream really loud if the killer is coming so I'll know to run."

Brooke's chuckle was more of a nervous gulp than a laugh. Peyton's smile was barely visible as her face was drowned with the expression of worry.

"I'm serious Peyton, I'll be fine," Brooke picked up her cell phone, "I'll try to call Jason."

"Okay," Peyton opened the door. "I shouldn't be but a few minutes. If the place is close do you want to go pick it up with me? It would be faster than delivery."

"Nah, that's okay. I'll just get ready for bed."

Brooke put on a brave face although inside she was shaking. She hated being alone now, but she couldn't find the way to tell Peyton that without sounding like an idiot, and as much as she didn't want it to, she still cared what Peyton thought about her.

Peyton nodded and locked the door behind her as she left their room. The night air was heavy with humidity. Her mind was stuck on Brooke's face and the fear and loneliness she saw there. She walked into the front office and asked to use the phone. After calling the pizza place she realized they were only a mile down the road. She thanked the clerk and walked back outside. She walked to her car and looked at the door of the room she was sharing with Brooke. She thought about making Brooke go with her, but she didn't want to press the issue. She knew that for whatever reason, Brooke was trying to be brave, Peyton wasn't going to stand in the way of that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The stranger watched her leave, without the brunette. He eyed the motel door with desire. He knew the one named Brooke was in there, alone, unprotected. The man looked around the motel. He could see only four other cars in the place. Hardly anyone around.

He stepped into the office where the elderly man greeted him with a saintly smile. It disgusted the stranger. He wiped the smile off the saint's face when he pulled a large hunting knife from a holster on his belt. The saint could not speak one word before the stranger pierced his heart with the weapon. He couldn't even pray.

The stranger was satisfied as he wiped the knife clean on the old man's sleeve. He pulled him into the storage room and closed the door. He had died so quickly that there was barely a cup full of blood on the floor. The stranger cleaned it up quickly with a towel found in the bathroom adjoined to the office. He threw the towel in with the saint and left the office.

He stepped outside secure in his night cover. He surveyed the parking lot and moved to the room where the brunette sat, unaware.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brooke brushed the last wind blown knot out of her hair and laid back on the bed. She felt exhausted. She picked up the remote control and flipped through the channels. A Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman movie was just beginning. Brooke and Peyton had seen it several times in the theater when it had been first released. They had wanted to be the sisters.

Brooke thought about Peyton. She recalled how concerned she had seemed for Brooke as she had left the room. She knew she should tell Peyton everything that had happened in the last six months, but she couldn't find the nerve to tell anyone. Not even Jason, who she knew to be the love of her life.

Her eyes grew heavy. She looked at the clock. It had been fifteen minutes since Peyton had left. She knew she would be back soon. She closed her eyes and decided to nap a little before Peyton got back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He could hear the television. A little louder than he cared to hear, but thankful for the cover it would lend him. He could see inside the room by peering through the blinds. It was mostly fuzzy but he could make out her figure lying on the bed. She appeared to be drifting into sleep. The image gave the stranger a reason to smile. He pulled the key had stolen from the front desk and slid into the keyhole. He was excited just thinking about being in the same room as the brunette.

He quietly opened the door and slid into the room, unseen and unheard by Brooke. He could hear her breathing deeply and knew she was asleep. He walked silently across the room, stealth in his motions. He stood above her knowing he could take her as his at any second.

He breathed in the scent of her shampoo and fresh skin. It had been too long since he had been with a female worth anything and now he had the chance to have fun with one of the sweetest, cleanest girls he had ever seen.

He touched her face with a gloved hand. She moved, but only slightly as though under the influence of a bad dream, or a bad memory. She whimpered but it was barely audible. The stranger watched Brooke in a vulnerable intimate moment. She was dreaming.

He leaned down, his breath fresh with the mint gum he chewed. He let his lips linger over hers without touching them. She shifted again in her sleep unaware of the danger so close to her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brooke's world was a chaotic swirl of images and sounds. She saw the things from her past that had only recently been reintroduced to her memory. She saw present pictures. Things that should have been happy were laden with sadness, darkness.

Then she saw him. The him of all her nightmares, of all her fears. The him that no one knew about that she had not told anyone about. He was lingering over her, controlling her every movement, her every scream of pain and fear. Older and more powerful.

She could actually feel his lips on hers, or near hers. It felt too real to be the usual nightmare of the past. She struggled against the images and fought to open her eyes. As the haze of nightmares cleared to the changing blue light of the television a face loomed near hers. She screamed as she realized she was no longer asleep and that someone was actually in the room with her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Peyton saw the motel door open as she pulled her car into its parking spot. When she turned off the engine she could hear Brooke screaming. She left the pizza in the front seat and dashed into the room. She saw nothing but Brooke sitting up in the bed, obviously terrified and a little disoriented. Peyton rushed to her side and immediately, with her presence alone, calmed Brooke down.

She instinctively wrapped her arms around Brooke and Brooke let her. She could feel the brunette shivering in her embrace.

"Brooke, what happened? Was someone in here?" Peyton asked looking back at the door. She had seen no one exiting the room when she had pulled into the parking lot but then again she hadn't been paying much attention.

Brooke stumbled through her tears to speak, "I was having a bad dream as usual but this time it was real."

Peyton frowned deeply, "What do you mean, Brooke? What kind of dreams and real how?"

"I have nightmares, often, and normally I wake up from them and I get over them, but this time, I woke up and there was a man standing in this room trying to kiss me."

The thought made Peyton sick to her stomach, "Brooke did you get a look at him?"

"No, no I didn't," Brooke shook her head, "God, what if he wasn't real? What if I'm going insane?"

"No," Peyton disagreed, "I don't think you're insane. Maybe we should start with these bad dreams of yours. Let me get the Pizza and lock the door up tight."

"I'm going with you," Brooke said as she stood up, practically attached to Peyton's hip.

Peyton didn't argue. She had never seen Brooke so out of sorts, so scared. They got the pizza and then returned to the motel room. Peyton checked the bathroom and the shower stall to make sure they were empty. Once they were positive everything was secure they sat on the bed with pizza.

"Should we call the police?" Peyton asked.

Brooke shook her head, "No. I don't even know if what I saw was real. I mean, if you knew the dreams I had you'd know why I'm doubtful of the whole thing. The more I think about it, the more I want to forget it."

"Why don't you tell me what your dreams are about." Peyton encouraged.

Brooke licked her dry lips, "It's something from a long time ago."

"Before we were friends?" Peyton asked.

Brooke shook her head, "No. We were friends. It was freshman year."

Peyton's curiosity was peaked, "Freshman year?"

Brooke nodded and Peyton ran through the year in her head. Brooke hadn't acted any differently than she always had, except she discovered boys and let them discover her. Peyton thought about it for a few minutes. Why had Brooke become so promiscuous?

"Do you remember when I refused to talk to you for a whole week?" Brooke looked at Peyton hoping she would remember.

Peyton remembered it well. One afternoon Brooke was talking excitedly about their plans to see the latest movie that weekend and the next thing Peyton knew Brooke had called her to cancel and then hadn't talked to her for a whole week.

"It was that weekend your dad had that huge business dinner at your house. I remember you told me that you had been PMSing and that you were grounded and was too embarrassed to talk to me about it."

"Yeah," Brooke said softly. She drew her knees to her chest and leaned against the headboard. "Something happened that night, the night of my dad's party. Something that I pushed to the side, I blocked it out until several months ago."

"Brooke?" Peyton's heart sank. She knew where the conversation was turning.

"One of my dad's business partners came into my room. I could still hear the party downstairs. People were drunk and laughing and it sounded like fun. I was in my room trying to go to sleep. It was after midnight."

Peyton's heart broke as she watched Brooke breaking down into tears, obviously reliving the horrible details in her head, "Brooke, sweetie? You don't have to tell…"

She shook her head, "I have to. I need to."

Peyton held Brooke's hand. She felt Brooke's grip tighten slightly. Brooke continued, "I had never…that was my first time Peyton. My dad's partner came into my room and forced me to have sex with him and it was my first time."

Peyton knew the question was stupid but it left her mouth anyway, "He raped you?"

Brooke nodded and buried her head in her arms which rested on her knees. She shook with the sobs that wracked her body. Peyton cried with her friend as she recalled how Brooke had changed so much after that. She had become the easy girl. She had become careless and supposedly carefree. But it had all been a cover. All of it.

"God Brooke, how could I not have known?" Peyton asked as she continued to comfort her friend.

Brooke spoke through her tears, "I didn't want you to know, Peyton. I didn't even want to know. After a few months of not dealing with it and in burying myself in boys…I buried it. Until earlier this year."

"What made you remember?" Peyton asked cautiously.

Brooke swallowed the lump in her throat, "I saw him."

"What? When?" Peyton thought about when she had told Brooke about Lucas, "Oh God, Brooke. Just before Nathan and Haley's shower? Before the party at Tric. You saw him, and then I opened my big mouth. That's why you needed me then, wasn't it? But I screwed it up."

Brooke cried harder as she leaned into Peyton, "I wanted to confide in you so badly, but I couldn't. Not then."

"Where did you see him Brooke?"

"At the coffee house on Chandler Street," Brooke swiped at her tears, "The bastard had the audacity to touch my shoulder like nothing had ever happened. I ran out of there as every image of him from that night came back to me. I threw up on the sidewalk."

"God Brooke, I am so sorry that it happened to you and I'm so sorry that I was so selfish and wasn't there for you when you needed me the most."

Together Brooke and Peyton left the pizza untouched and fell asleep in each other's arms. A friendship on the mend, a heart broken, a soul shaken. Peyton had never been more glad in her life to have had the opportunity to know this dark secret of Brooke's. Now Brooke wouldn't have to be alone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He felt anger and resentment as he had listened to Brooke tell her story. Every word was clear as he had listened from the adjoining room. Unseen, unheard. He thought Brooke was clean and innocent. Looks were so deceiving. He didn't know much about Peyton though. Maybe he should be his new adventure. Either way, they were both there for the taking. He wanted to bide his time until he was ready.


	4. Porcelain Heart

-1Chapter 3

Peyton's eyes opened slowly. One glance at the window told her that the sun was rising over the horizon. She was alone in the bed she had shared with Brooke. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought about the previous night and the secret Brooke had shared with her. Had it all been a dream? She remembered the lost and alone look in Brooke's unhappy hazel eyes.

The shower water was running. Peyton knew that Brooke had given her the truth and that it had not been a figment of her imagination. The water turned off. She could hear Brooke moving around in the bathroom. Peyton slid out of the covers and retrieved her clothes for the day from the duffel bag by the door. As she knelt down by the bag, she noticed an odd footprint in the dingy old carpet.

She thought about the door being open when she had pulled back into the parking lot after picking up the pizza. She briefly wondered if someone had actually been in the room. The thought sent an odd chill up her spine. She reached her hand out to touch the print, but before she could, Brooke opened the bathroom door.

Peyton immediately forgot about the footprint and turned her attention to Brooke, "Hi."

Brooke looked almost embarrassed, as she stared down at her own Nike shoes and jean shorts, "Hey."

Her face was tinged a slight rose color. Peyton wanted to smile but found herself frowning. She wanted to say something to Brooke, anything that would dissipate the pain she saw in her friend's face. But the only thing she could do was wrap her arms around Brooke.

Brooke sank into Peyton's hug, "Thank you. I needed that."

Brooke felt almost safe, but it was a brief feeling. Peyton pulled away from her and looked at her closely. The scrutiny Peyton gave her made her too self-aware. She could feel the fear and the shame she harbored. It made her seethe with self-hate.

"Did you get any sleep?" Peyton asked Brooke.

Brooke shrugged, her mouth turning up into the unsure smile she often wore when the conversation turned to her. Brooke wondered if Peyton really cared or if she was just passing the awkward time. Brooke looked into Peyton's eyes and saw what she had hoped to see. Compassion, concern, and absolute love.

"Some."

"Maybe you can catch up while we're driving this morning," Peyton offered.

Brooke nodded, "Maybe. But first we have to get some food. I'm starving, but I'm not eating cold stale pizza for breakfast."

Peyton looked at the untouched box on the small table by the window. It made her stomach flip. "I saw a Waffle House last night when I went to get the pizza. How does that sound?"

Brooke looked thoughtfully at the pizza box, "Like heaven."

While Peyton got a quick shower, Brooke loaded their things into the Comet. She loved Peyton's car. It was everything Peyton was; free-spirited, classic, dark, temperamental, and everything you could ever want, in a car, or in a friend. She looked up and down the road. She looked around the motel. It dawned on Brooke that despite the beautiful, warm day there was no one coming out of their room.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The stranger watched as she loaded the car. He could torment them now, but there would be no fun in that. He had other plans for them. He watched as they exited the parking lot. They looked tired, wary. They even seemed to be a little cautious of one another.

It dawned on the stranger that the girls had a tenuous friendship. It was something he could use to his benefit. Their body language spoke volumes. It was as though they had been close once and wanted to be again, but something, or someone, held them back.

He stepped over the dead body and took the woman's keys off the dresser. He looked outside and saw the car that belonged to him now. An older Chevy Cavalier. It wasn't his style, but it would get him to where he was going.

He glanced at the footprints he had left behind in his wake of carnage. Dried blood look much like dried mud. He shrugged and left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Breakfast had been quiet, filled with worried glances from Peyton to Brooke. Brooke had asked Peyton briefly about the weird atmosphere at the hotel. Peyton had agreed that it seemed off slightly, but then they concurred that they were in the middle of nowhere and things were bound to fell off slightly.

After thirty minutes of driving with the sounds of the radio mingling with the roar of the wind, Peyton was tired of not really talking. She had been given astounding, pertinent information the night before, she had to talk about it with Brooke.

Brooke looked nervously at Peyton as the blonde turned down the radio. Anytime the music was turned down, Brooke knew the conversation would be serious. She decided to beat Peyton to the punch. Maybe by talking first she could avoid the really hard questions she knew Peyton would ask.

"It was hell, Peyton," Brooke offered before Peyton could speak. She didn't mean for her voice to be so hushed, but the pain of that night squelched her volume.

Peyton nodded, "What was his name?"

"Mr. Howard. Frank Howard. He owns half the strip malls in Tree Hill and the tri-county area."

Peyton paled. She knew very well who he was. He was always in the Tree Hill newspaper. He had more money than God. His power far outreached his money. Dan Scott couldn't even touch the man. If Brooke had gone to the police they never would have believed her. Instinctively, Peyton placed her hand over Brooke's on the seat.

"Brooke, how did you do it?"

"Do what?" Her eyes were lowered, seeking out her fingers that were intertwined.

Peyton's whole being ached with compassion for her friend, "How did you make it through that week alone?"

Brooke shrugged, "I stayed in my room mostly. As much as I hated it because it happened there, I stayed in it and tried to write it away."

"Write?" Peyton had never known Brooke to care much about writing, but tragedy often changed people.

Brooke smiled, "Yeah, you and Lucas aren't the only ones with half a brain for creativity.

Peyton frowned, "Never thought we were. I mean, look at Clothes over Bros. Talking about artistic and beautiful."

Brooke blushed slightly, "Thanks."

"So you wrote?" Peyton pushed on, "What did you write?"

Brooke bit her bottom lip weighing the consequences of telling Peyton anything even remotely cheesy. She decided that Peyton wouldn't dare make fun of her. "I wrote poems. I still do, sometimes, when life sucks."

"I would love to read them sometime," Peyton said sincerely. "I mean, if you want them read."

"I don't," Brooke stated coldly.

Peyton shrank in her seat a little, "Sorry, I didn't mean to…" 

"No," Brooke shook her head, "I mean I don't want them read by anyone else. I mean, because we haven't been close, I wasn't sure if I wanted you to ever see them, but now that you know…I don't know, maybe it'll help. Maybe having someone else see that part of me…you know?"

Somewhere in the babble, Peyton knew what Brooke meant. The brunette was trying to open up to her blonde counterpart.

"Just don't laugh at me, okay?" Brooke's voice sounded so vulnerable, so soft.

Peyton smiled sweetly, "Brooke, I won't laugh at you. I could never laugh at you, I promise."

Brooke nodded, "I actually have them with me, in my duffel bag. I go everywhere with them."

"Okay. I'll drive another hour and then you can take over, and I'll read them while you drive. Deal?"

Brooke nodded, "Okay, but Peyton, I have to warn you. Some of the poems are about you."

"Good or bad?" Peyton asked tentatively.

"Both, actually," Brooke said apologetically.

"Cool," Peyton shrugged.

She couldn't wait to get her hands on the poems and see how Brooke was really feeling, about everything in her life. Especially what had happened to her, and also about their friendship. Peyton really wanted to make it work with Brooke. She wanted it to be the way it had been. But she knew it would never be the same.

Brooke was thinking the same things as she wondered if maybe she and Peyton could be better than they were before everything had turned to crap. Brooke wanted Peyton to read her poems, because she wanted to finally share everything she had been holding in. She had spend several years now not telling anyone anything about her real self. She had to share, especially with Peyton.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The stranger followed at a safe distance behind the vintage vehicle. He could imagine what they were talking about. He imagined the pop music playing in the cars speakers. Maybe Britney Spears, or Christina Aguilera. He could imagine how the blonde was comforting the brunette about her past. He thought about everything he had heard the previous night in their motel room.

Brooke's confession had angered him at first, and then he felt oddly attracted to her because of it. The thought of her begging for anything, including help, turned him on. If he had been a normal man, he would have been ashamed of the thought, but he could care less. The only emotion that ever drove him was want. And he wanted the dark-haired Brooke. He thought about Peyton.

"The blonde will be a bonus," he said aloud to the empty interior of the Cavalier.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dinner had been as quiet as breakfast had been. Neither had been hungry enough for lunch. Forty-eight hours had passed since their trip had begun. The sun had been shining the entire time. They stepped out of the café into a darkening cloudy evening. A storm was brewing.

Peyton watched as they slid back into the car. She sat down in the passenger seat as Brooke got behind the wheel. Brooke started the car and looked at Peyton as she put the top up. Peyton glanced back to the duffel bag behind the driver's seat. Brooke grimaced.

"Still want to read it, huh?" Brooke asked half-hoping she had forgotten about it.

Peyton nodded, "If it helps our friendship, I'm willing to read, or do anything."

The honesty in Peyton's voice touched Brooke's heart. She paused for a moment before reaching into the duffel bag and producing a black leather-bound journal. She handed it to Peyton.

"Read page 27 first. It's about you. About how I really feel about you. Even now after everything. It's the way I always felt."

Peyton hesitated to open the journal. She grabbed the flashlight from the glove box and opened the journal. It opened silently, telling Peyton that Brooke had written in its pages many times. She flipped through the inked words and looked at Brooke.

"Go ahead," Brooke looked sadly at the journal, "I want you to read it."

Peyton flipped to page 27 and began to read her fingers nervously shaking as they traced the word written in bold letters at the top of the page. The poem was called, "Soul."

_Seeing you, giving everything, it's all in your eyes_

_They lead to your heart, and hide no lies._

_Searching your words for the compassion they hold. _

_You help my mind and heal my soul._

_Opening up about the past, you judge me not_

_For you've been there too and know a lot_

_You read my pain as if it were your own_

_You give me strength that I have never known. _

_Understanding the need for a friend, you would never say a word_

_As I have spoken, you listened, and you heard._

_You talk to me as though it matters what I say_

_You've taught me to be myself to enjoy everyday_

_Looking into my own heart is not as hard as it used to be_

_Now that someone else believes in me_

_There is no word in the world to describe the beauty you hold_

_Within your heart and within your soul._

Peyton felt overwhelmed. She looked up and saw the first few drops of rain coming down. Brooke looked pale and anxious as she waited for Peyton's critique of the poem. Peyton could only think of one thing to say.

"Thank you, Brooke."

Brooke shrugged not wanting to be too emotional. She just wanted to drive and maintain her composure. She stole a quick glance at Peyton who was smiling proudly at her. As she looked back to the window the rain began to pour torrentially.

"Wow, it's getting bad out there."

Peyton nodded, "Maybe we should find a place to stay. Call it an early night?"

"Agreed," Brooke stated.

Peyton returned her attention to the book in her hands, "Can I read more?"

Brooke nodded, "Read as much as you want."

Peyton turned the pages back to the beginning of the writings. There were two years of poems. Brooke had begun to write the day after it happened. She read the turmoil of Brooke's heart and soul at that time. One poem in particular stood out to Peyton. A poem she connected with on the deepest level. She knew Brooke was writing her own emotions on the page but it could have easily been the way Peyton had felt in her life.

_Loneliness_

_I can tell the world _

_What loneliness does_

_When they aren't seeing._

_It turned the soul inside-out_

_Brings tears to cheek_

_Ruins being._

_Loneliness haunts the heart_

_In the most crowded room_

_When no one understands_

_It tears the soul to pieces_

_Brings pain into the eyes_

_And brooding it demands._

_Can't tell the world _

_When loneliness goes away_

_Because it stays here still_

_Turning emotions inside-out_

_Making sadness too real._

Peyton was about to ask Brooke about the poem when suddenly a man appeared in the middle of the road. Brooke turned the wheel of the car and missed him by inches. The car skidded in a circle hydroplaning on the wet road. When they came to a complete stop, the rain beating on the hood of the car was the only sound they heard.

Peyton looked at Brooke, "Are you okay?"

Brooke nodded slowly, "I think so. Did I hit him?"

Peyton turned in her seat to see the man still standing in the middle of the road. He was too far away to see anything more than his silhouette, "No. He's still standing there." 

"What's wrong with him?" Brooke asked as she turned to look as well. Her hands were shaking and her heart was pounding.

Peyton shook her head, "I don't know, but let's get out of here. I don't want to ask."

"I couldn't agree more."

Brooke gave the car some gas and pulled away from the man in the middle of the road. Peyton turned to look one more time and could have sworn she saw the man running toward them. The thought gave Peyton the chills.

"I can't wait to get to a hotel," Brooke stated, "This weather gives me the creeps."

Peyton nodded, "Yeah, let's just hope we don't run into that guy again."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The stranger watched as they pulled away from the side of the road. He had wanted to scare them into wrecking, but the Comet handled better than he thought it would. He knew he would have to catch up to them later. And he would catch them later.


	5. Let It Rain

-1Chapter 4

It wasn't the nicest place they had seen but it was cheap, clean enough, and had vacancies. It was also the only motel they had seen in two hours. Brooke and Peyton had gone in side by side to pay for the room. They ignored the strange looks from the desk attendant. Peyton smiled inwardly knowing the man was assuming she and Brooke were a couple. But Peyton's smile faded when she realized Brooke wasn't doing what she would have done in the past. Brooke wasn't playing it up for the fun of it.

They got their key and ran through the downpour toward their room. The key stuck in the lock momentarily leaving enough time for them both to become thoroughly drenched. When they finally opened the door, they threw their duffel bags on the floor, locked the door behind them and laid down exhausted and soaked on the double bed. It sagged in the middle which made the two girls roll toward one another. It was then that Brook finally giggled.

"Is it just me or is this the road trip from hell?" Brooke asked when the giggling ceased.

Peyton shook her head as she continued to lay in the middle of the bed, "It's just you."

The blonde laughed harder when Brooke hit her with a pillow. Then Brooke sat up and Peyton followed the action.

"I'm serious Peyton. Don't you feel this impending disaster coming?"

Peyton studied Brooke's face. She had felt odd moments of strange chills, but she had chalked it up to learning about Brooke's horrible reality. As she looked over Brooke's face and her non-styled hair, her smile faded.

"I guess it has been off kilter a little, but I don't think it's impending disaster. Maybe what you're feeling has more to do with revealing a long-kept secret and not really knowing what I think about it or you?"

Peyton watched and received the reaction she knew Brooke would have. Brooke was surprised if not slightly impressed with Peyton's psychological assessment.

"So?" Brooke whispered nervously.

Peyton sat crossed-legged facing Brooke, who sat with her knees drawn to her chest, "So, what do I think?"

Brooke nodded, afraid of her own voice. Peyton looked her straight in the eyes not wanting one note of inflection in her voice to be missed by her once was, once again best friend.

"I want you to hear me very clearly Brooke," Peyton lifted Brooke's chin so their eyes were locked on one another. "I think you are beautiful and brave. I think you are amazingly kind and intelligent, fun and so very loving. I have always thought so, and I will always think so."

Brooke bit her lower lip shyly, "Really?"

Peyton hugged her, "Of course, B. Davis. What did you think I would say?"

Brooke shrugged, "That I'm disgusting and ugly and a whore."

"Oh God, Brooke," Peyton embraced her again, "God, I would never say that. I would never, could never, think that about you. Not even in our worst battle. Is that how you see yourself?"

The slow deep intake of breath indicated that was exactly what Brooke thought of herself, her words concurred, "Sometimes I do. Sometimes I feel like I'm a big liar. That everything I am is a lie. Jason doesn't have a clue about what happened, and he thinks that I don't want to have sex with him because of some new leaf I've turned over, when the truth is, I'm terrified."

"Of what Brooke?" Peyton was both saddened and enlightened by Brooke's revelations.

Brooke bowed her head down pulling at the shabby bedspread, "Of him finding out. I'm scared that he couldn't possibly love me if he knew the real me."

"Brooke," Peyton made her look at her again, "He's already madly in love with you because he knows the real you. The real you takes care of those she loves. Trust me Brooke, he loves the real you."

"He loves the façade I make for the world," Brooke frowned.

Peyton shook her head, "No, Brooke. I can't let you think that way. Don't you get it. You're saying that a rape victim is who you are. You're saying that what happened to you is who you are. You didn't do anything Brooke. You did nothing wrong. You're still you, despite what happened. Don't you see that?"

"No," Brooke whispered honestly, "I guess I don't."

"Then my new mission in life is to make damn sure you know how much you're worth."

Brooke looked nervously at Peyton, "Do you have to?"

Peyton chuckled softly, "Yes, I have to. You know what…I love you Brooke."

Brooke got off the bed, "I'm going to go ahead and take a shower."

Peyton had really wanted a response but instead of showing her disappointment, she smiled, "Okay. I'll be right here."

Brooke smiled slightly and turned away. She turned back briefly, "Thank you, Peyton. And just so you know…I love you too."

Peyton was left with a reassured smile. She wanted nothing more than to help Brooke.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The bubble gum sentiment made him nauseous. He listened intently as the shower began to run. The blonde was alone. He looked down at the college students dead on the floor. The acrid smell of blood and booze burned his nose and left him with the desire to create more havoc. Once again he had taken over the room next to the girls.

He moved slowly through the carnage and opened the motel door. The rain beat down on his already weathered coat washing away the blood he relished so much. He placed a steady calm strong hand on the locked door of the two girls.

He knocked gently.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Peyton read another poem written by Brooke. Brooke had a talent to be proud of. Her emotions were thick on every page and yet she seemed removed from the writing. It made Peyton feel good to know that Brooke trusted her so much, even after everything that had happened.

A knock on the door tore Peyton's eyes from the journal. The sound, soft and gentle, unnerved the blonde. The shower was still running. Peyton realized that her mouth was very dry. She shuffled in a deep breath and moved to the door. She debated back and forth in the few seconds it took her to reach it whether or not she should open it.

The knock came again. Peyton jumped slightly. She leaned her ear against the door, "Who is it?"

"I'm sorry but I just got kicked out of my room, frat prank and all. I was wondering if I could use your phone to call the front desk for a key."

Peyton listened to the deep voice. It was disturbingly familiar, and yet not someone she knew.

"Why don't you just go to the front desk and get a key instead of calling?" Peyton asked.

The voice hesitated, "I didn't want to have to walk in the rain, but I can understand. Sorry to have bothered you."

Peyton could hear him moving away from the door. Was she being paranoid? Was Brooke's secret starting to affect her courage as well?"

Peyton changed her mind and jerked open the door to stop the guy from having to walk in the rain, "Hey, wait…"

There was no one there. Peyton quickly closed and locked the door again. The feeling Brooke had described now crept up her spine and dwelled in the dark recesses of her thoughts.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He could smell her perfume. So sweet was youth. He could, and would have them both. It was just a matter of when. He closed the door behind him back in the room of dead college kids. He placed his ear to the wall and listened carefully. He heard the shower turning off. And then he heard their muffled voices.

"Tonight," he gruffly whispered. "It starts tonight."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brooke eyes Peyton suspiciously, "Okay, what happened?"

Peyton tried to cover, "What do you mean?"

"You're paler than usual and look, I don't know, scared or something."

Peyton weighed carefully in her mind what she would tell Brooke, "Okay, but you can't freak out. It was probably nothing ."

Brooke pulled on her jean shorts, "You're freaking me out, Peyton."

"And you just put on jean shorts to go to bed," Peyton noted trying to change the subject.

"I like to be ready to run," Brooke answered, "Now what happened?"

"There was this knock on the door and some college frat boy said he needed to use the phone to call the front desk."

Brooke looked nervous. Peyton held up her hand, "Stop thinking. I didn't let him in. I told him to just go to the front desk. So I heard him move away from the door. I opened the door and no one was there."

"And you got the weird feeling," Brooke half-stated, half-asked.

Peyton nodded, "I doubt it means anything."

Brooke stared shoving all her stuff back in the duffel bag, "It means everything."

"What are you doing Brooke?"

Brooke started putting Peyton's stuff in its bag, "We're leaving."

"What?" Peyton asked incredulously, "Brooke are you serious?"

"Yes, Peyton," she said, "I am. This feeling, I can't ignore it. And it's not because I'm afraid of the world or something. It's not like that. Yes, I'm scared that something like what happened to me before will happen again, but that's not what this is about. This is about two girls, alone in some rats-ass motel room with some potential trouble stirring. I don't want to stick around to see what."

Peyton watched Brooke move about quickly and nervously getting everything packed back up. Peyton reexamined the feeling she had had at the door. She slid off the bed and helped Brooke finish packing.

"I think you're right."

They threw their bags into the Mercury and walked through the rain together to the front desk. Their eyes darted back and forth in the dark looking for potential evil. They found none outside. Peyton was the first to walk through the door to the front office. The smell hit her before the image did. She looked past the desk to the floor behind it.

The man who had assumed Peyton and Brooke were lesbians was now dead behind the counter. A hole was sunk into the middle of what had once been his face. Blood and teeth marred the floor. Peyton strangled the scream that came barreling out of her mouth with her hand. But Brooke's was loud and long.

Peyton turned immediately and took Brooke into her arms. She pushed them both outside into the rain and the fresh air. Peyton wanted to throw up but somehow kept her wits. Brooke trembled and paused a few times to suck in deep breaths of rainy air.

"What the hell happened to him?" Brooke finally asked Peyton.

"Murder," Peyton said as she began to drag Brooke to her car. They were about to reach it when the stranger appeared in front of it. Peyton stopped cold, Brooke's body close to hers. The only sound in the pouring rain was the heavy breathing of the two scared, alone, in-trouble girls.


	6. Take Me Away

-1Chapter 5

"Nice night, isn't it?" The stranger smirked at the terrified girls through the rain.

Brooke shivered all over knowing that his voice held nothing but malice. She felt Peyton's hand in hers and they were both shaking.

Brooke tore her gaze away from the stranger and looked at Peyton. The blonde had a determined stance. Brooke knew she was scared but angry. It was the Peyton she knew well.

Peyton's voice carried through the rain to the stranger, "Why are you doing this?"

Brooke realized that Peyton recognized the man. She looked harder through the rain and finally saw that it was the man from their first lunch stop a few days ago. That fact unnerved her more than she dreamed she could ever be. She knew that it meant that he had been following them.

"Peyton," Brooke whispered, her eyes not leaving the calm killer. "We have to get out of here, now."

Peyton's grip became tighter around Brooke's hand. She wanted to run, but she didn't know which way would be safe. Peyton wasn't sure any way was safe.

"What do you say the three of us get in your Mercury here and have a little chat?" The stranger's smile was that of the devil.

Peyton and Brooke began to back slowly away when the stranger took three steps forward and pulled out a large handgun. The girls gasped at the sight, knowing that this man knew how to use it. They were frozen in place.

"Get in the car girls," he said, the smile never melting.

He moved quickly and had his hand around Brooke's upper arm before they even had a chance to blink. Peyton screamed in his face to let her go and was rewarded by having the gun placed against her forehead.

"I said, get in the car, girls," The stranger's voice was that of an impatient father. They didn't struggle much as he pushed Peyton into the driver's seat and then placed Brooke between him and the blonde.

Peyton's hands shook as she pulled out the keys. She was trying her best to get through the fear and think of a plan that would save them. Nothing would come to her thoughts as she started the car. She felt Brooke trembling next to her. She knew Brooke's fears. She knew Brooke was terrified that this man would do to her again what had once been done. Peyton feared it as well, but a flash of the motel clerk's missing face popped into her mind and she knew that death could be just as close as Brooke's fear.

"W…w…where do I go?" Peyton managed to stutter slightly as she looked from Brooke to the stranger.

"Head west. I have a place," he grinned.

Brooke's stomach ached with disgust as this man continued to hold her arm roughly. He leered at her as only a sadistic pervert could. She shook inside, knowing the look too well. She looked away from him and looked at Peyton. Their eyes met briefly as Peyton started the car. There was no turning back.

Peyton's mind was turning with possible solutions to their problem. None of them were wearing seatbelts so slamming on the brakes to cause the stranger a head injury would be suicide. Another flash of the motel clerk's missing face stated to Peyton that perhaps suicide would be the preferable option.

Once on the road, the rain began to pour harder. Peyton was having trouble concentrating on the road when Brooke was beside her shaking uncontrollably. The stranger sat still, gun aimed into Brooke's side, a satisfied smirk plastered on his face.

"This is going to be a beautiful night ladies," he pressed the gun harder into Brooke's side, making her let out an audible yelp of pain.

Brooke felt as though the barrel of the gun was going to break her ribs. The tears soaking her face were involuntary billboards of pain and terror. She felt the strangers lust for them, and his desire to create hell on earth. It made her shudder. She choked down a sob and tried to think of what needed to be done. His voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Following you girls has been the most anticipatory event of my decade. Just knowing that when you got to a certain point in the trip you would be mine…it's been hell waiting," he ran his free hand through Brooke's hair, "But it's been worth it."

"Leave her alone," Peyton demanded firmly.

He shook his head as though annoyed, "Or what Blondie? You'll glare at me until I die?"

His laugh was as menacing as his gun. Peyton grinded her teeth together, wanting nothing more than to kill the stranger as his free hand roamed from Brooke's hair to her bare legs.

"Get this Blondie," the stranger said as his hand rubbed up and down Brooke's leg, "You can't do anything to me. I'm bigger than you. I'm stronger than you. I'm smarter than you. I'm going to do whatever I want to your friend here, and then I'm going to do it to you, too."

Peyton's anger was alive and well and Brooke's tears were its fuel. Peyton kept her eyes on the road and both hands on the steering wheel. She was moving at about 60 miles per hour, though in the rains he should have gone a lot slower.

Brooke could feel the anger emanating from Peyton. She glanced at her knuckles on the steering wheel and saw her already pale hands turning whiter with the grip she had on the red leather. Brooke managed to stop crying long enough to realize there was a way out. There was always a way out.

The stranger pulled the gun away from Brooke. He mumbled something about needing a smoke. While he was pulling the cigarettes and lighter out of his shirt pocket. Brooke quickly reached past him and jerked open the door. Before he could realize what was really happening, the passenger door was wide open and Brooke's feet were pushing him out of the car.

"Brooke!" Peyton gasped as the door had opened.

"Help me!" Brooke begged.

Peyton allowed one hand to move to the stranger's hand in front of Brooke. She dug her nails into the tanned skin and caused him to drop the gun. Somehow Peyton managed to hold on to Brooke while the stranger fell from the speeding car into the rain.

Brooke had been close to falling out of the car as well, but Peyton's grasp on her was so tight there would surely be a bruise on her arm later. Brooke could care less. She straightened up and managed to get the door closed. Out of breath and face tear-stained, she turned in her seat and tried to make out the stranger behind them in the darkness. She could see nothing.

"Can you see him?" Peyton asked, not once letting off the gas.

Brooke shook her head no. Still trembling, she let the severity of what had just occurred sink in.

"Peyton?" she whispered.

Peyton nodded and took Brooke's hand, "Shhh….It's okay, Brooke. It's okay. We'll get to the next gas station and call the police."

Brooke nodded, "Let's hope that son of a bitch is dead."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He opened his eyes and felt the pain in his ribs. It revived him. It left him wanting the girls even more. He stood slowly and looked up into the night sky. The rain had stopped. He began to walk in the direction the girls had gone. Each step brought a shock of pain, and a renewal of evil.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The rain had stopped twenty minutes earlier. Peyton and Brooke finally had come upon a gas station nestled at the foot of some mini-mountains. The neon signed glowed a bright red. OPEN.

They stopped the car and got out. Brooke slid out of the driver's side with Peyton. Peyton could see she was terrified. She felt the fear coursing through her own veins. Peyton wrapped her arms around Brooke and squeezed tightly. She heard the brunette sigh and lean into her.

"Let's go call the cops," Peyton finally spoke.

Brooke nodded and they walked arm-in-arm into the gas station. Bells above the door jingled as they entered. Their eyes were assaulted by the bright fluorescent lights above. The rows of candy bars and chips didn't tempt them for even a second. They were both too upset and scared to have an appetite.

"May I help you ladies?" A large man behind the counter twirled a toothpick between his teeth.

Peyton placed her shaking hands on the counter, "We need to use your phone to call the police."

The man looked interested, "Oh yeah? What's going on?"

Brooke looked nervous and annoyed, "Some man just tried to kill us."

The large man's eyes grew wide, "No shit?"

Peyton glanced uncomfortably at Brooke. Brooke hugged herself tightly and shrugged. Peyton looked at the man again, "Sir we really need to use the phone please."

The man called toward an open door near the counter, "Hey Freddy, Bill! You've gotta come out here and listen to the tale these girls are spinning."

Peyton instantly sensed the danger before the two men even stepped foot into the counter area. Brooke tensed up even more than she already was. The two men, both muscular and tattooed, wore wicked grins of evil.

"We'll head down the road," Peyton said half-dragging Brooke, half being dragged by Brooke.

Before they could get to the door, the largest of the three men was blocking their way. Peyton's heart sank as she was grabbed from behind and the other two men grabbed Brooke and slammed her against the ice cream case. Brooke shrieked and fought to be free from roaming hands and mouths, and Peyton screamed at the top of her lungs to get them to stop.

Brooke wanted to throw up. She wanted to cry but everything about her was frozen as hands found their way up her shirt and down her shorts. She tried to make eye contact with Peyton. She wanted to make sure that Peyton wasn't being harmed or was trying to help. She saw the skinny blonde kicking up a storm occasionally nailing her holder in the shins eliciting a grimace from the man.

Peyton caught Brooke's eyes and held her gaze. Brooke was so lost, so afraid, so violated, and Peyton could tell that Brooke wouldn't stop fighting. She wanted to hold her gaze forever and tell her it was going to be okay, but the lights went out and she could no longer see anything. She could hear the bell above the door jingling and then three shots fired. The lights came on again and the stranger stood in the doorway with a smoking gun.

"Hey girls," he grinned.

Brooke slid away from the ice cream case and slipped slightly in blood. Peyton could feel the warmth of the kill on her face. She felt no regret for their deaths. She looked around for a mere second and saw the three dead men on the ground. Holes in their bodies. Clean kills.

Peyton realized how badly their situation was going. She looked to Brooke with eyes wide, "Run, Brooke. Go!"

Brooke wanted to stay with Peyton, but some how the stranger had stepped between her and Peyton. Peyton was closest to the door, and Brooke was closest to the bathrooms.

"Any, many, miney moe," the stranger said, looking between the blonde and the brunette. He had wanted the brunette from the beginning, but the blonde's strength was beginning to turn him on.

Brooke ran. She listened to Peyton and she ran. Peyton ran in the opposite direction, hoping the stranger would follow her and forget about Brooke. She glanced over her shoulder as she got into the parking lot. The stranger exited the building and began to follow Peyton.

Peyton ran as hard as she could into the hills surrounding the gas station. Almost immediately she tripped on a large rock and twisted her ankle. Had she not been so scared she would have rolled her eyes at the insane stereotypical move. Horror movie, twisted ankle.

But she didn't have time to ponder the inane moment. Instead she ran harder despite the pain. She turned to look and saw that the stranger was no longer behind her. He was nowhere to be seen.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brooke was inside the bathroom, her knees drawn to her chest. She thought about the men who had just had their hands all over her. She felt disgusting. She thought about Peyton and began to get a small amount of bravery. Her friend was out there. Peyton needed her. She wouldn't let Peyton go through what she had already been through.

She had heard the bells about the door. She knew the stranger was going after Peyton. Slowly she stood. One look in the mirror told her that everything she felt about herself was true. She ignored the reflection and slowly disengaged the lock from the bathroom door. The lights went out again making her heart jump. She knew it was the stranger. It had to be.

Darkness, fear, the stench of coppery-scented blood. It burned her nostrils as she made her way through the menagerie of dead men. Her stomach churned as she felt almost thankful for their deaths, but it wretched as she realized she was the reason they were dead.

Three of them, various gunshot wounds to their bodies. All died faster than they could frown, so they still had the same sick, lustful grins on their faces they had just moments before. Brooke continued to move. She couldn't feel bad or guilty for these men she didn't even know. She had to get to Peyton. She could hear her screaming outside. She knew that he was also outside. He, as in the man they had come to fear the most. She had to get to Peyton before he did.

She could see his outline outside the store. He wasn't coming for her, he was going for Brooke. Peyton couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't. She screamed again. Loudly, and longer than before. She could hear the desperation in her own voice. She had to get to Brooke before he did. Somehow.

She leaned forward on a rock and surveyed the situation. Everything was clear from this distance because of the fullness of the moon. She could see his shadowy outline against the backdrop of the store. He blended with it. She knew Brooke wouldn't be able to see him.

Peyton thought briefly of the moments they were together inside the store. The entire thing had been straight from a horror movie. Peyton could still feel the warm blood on her face. Not her blood but that of a stranger. Peyton remembered Brooke's face as two of the three men had tried to attack her. Peyton's own anger that she couldn't stop them. But he had. He had stopped them because he wanted to kill Peyton and Brooke for himself.

She moved toward the store. Something had to be done. She was tired of running tired of being scared. She just wished Lucas and Jason were still around. They would have been able to save them. Instead they were in sunny California waiting on the girls.

Brooke's foot slipped and slid in the various puddles of intermingling blood. She forgot not to look and glanced down at the biggest of the three dead men. A hole in his forehead gave her a glimpse into carnage. A small sob escaped her mouth and she quickly covered it with a dirt-streaked hand. She shook from head to toe and wondered briefly how they had gotten here.

"Brooke!"

Her voice sliced through Brooke's fear. Peyton was somewhere out there, alone, scared. Brooke tried to see out of the convenience store window. Darkness except for two headlights. She knew it was Peyton's car.

Brooke found the door and pushed it open. The cool desert air wrapped around her bare legs and for a moment she wished she hadn't worn shorts. She looked to the left and the right. She could feel his presence without seeing him. She saw someone running toward her from the hills surrounding the gas station. It was Peyton.

"Brooke! He's right…"

His hands wrapped around Brooke's waist and dragged her toward Peyton's car. It was running, ready to go. Brooke fought with all of her strength but was no match for him. Before Peyton could reach them, he was pulling away from the gas station. Dust clouds darkened the area around Peyton. Brooke watched her as she and their monster drove away. She prayed she would see Peyton again someday.


	7. Be Still

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** This update is for mfeo! Your reviews the last few days have me amped up and inspired to write! Thank you for reading and thank you for liking it. Your comments and compliments are motivating the words right onto the screen. I know it's short, but I wanted to stop it right where it was. The next chapter will be longer and filled with a lot of action! Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 6

Peyton was safe. It was the only thing that continuously ran through Brooke's mind as she watched the lights of the gas station fade into the distance behind them. She glanced momentarily at her captor, her body trembling with rotating thoughts of death and fear. Brooke didn't know what torture would come for her, but she took some comfort in knowing that Peyton was safe.

The stranger looked at her with a wolfish grin. Brooke's small comfort diminished immediately as she realized how truly bad her night was going to get. Somehow she managed to find the will to steady her pounding heart and speak to him.

"Where are we going?" Her voice was an audio advertisement of her terror.

The stranger looked ahead, "Told you. I have a place."

Brooke wrapped her arms tightly around her body and closed her eyes. She began to pray. Each of her unspoken thoughts begged God for mercy and safety.

"If you're praying pretty girl, it's not gonna help you. Never helped any of the girls before you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Peyton watched without breathing until the car was out of sight. She had wanted to move, to think, to scream, but fear and sheer shock had her floored with silence and steadiness. As soon as the taillights disappeared, Peyton felt her autopilot taking over.

She quickly surveyed the parking lot and chose between two vehicles; an old pick up truck, and a motorcycle. Since she had no idea how to drive a motorcycle she went with the pick up truck. She quickly inspected the unlocked interior for keys but found none. She knew then what she would have to do.

With trembling hands and swirling thoughts and memories of her best friend, Peyton opened the door to the gas station. The jingling bell above seemed like a distant sound, like perhaps the wind on the horizon. Peyton caught a slight glimpse of her reflection in the glass of the door. She looked wild and untamed.

She ignored the blood and stench and stuck her hands into the pockets of the dead men until she finally came up with the keys to the Chevy Pick-Up. She picked up the phone and was surprised that there was actually a dial tone. Quickly she dialed 911 and explained to the operator everything she knew. She explained that she was about to steal the blue pick up and the direction she was heading in. She hung up the phone and ran toward the vehicle. Precious time was wasting.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been an hour since the stranger had abducted her from the gas station. Brooke was acutely aware of the darkness that surrounded the Mercury Comet. In the distance the moon bounced off rocky hills and desert land. The car stopped and she took a moment to look around. In the light of the high beams, an old wooden shack hid in the base of one of those moonlit rocky hills.

"We're here," he spoke to Brooke. She cringed as his voice was not unlike a groom on his honeymoon.

He got out of the car and Brooke took the chance to lock the doors. He laughed at her and held his hands up. From his thumb and forefinger he jingled the keys. Brooke's heart sank. Her nightmares were just beginning.

The stranger unlocked the door, "Come on Princess. You're going to love me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Forty-five minutes into the drive, Peyton had finally caught up to the Mercury. She had trailed far behind and when she saw him turn off the main road, she turned in the opposite direction to avoid being seen. She cut the headlights and had watched as the Mercury's bright lights had faded into the distance.

She was sitting in the pick-up debating how to approach. She could see a lot thanks to the moon, but the fear was beginning to blind her. She pulled the pick-up onto the road, headlight still off. She turned where her own vehicle had been driven and followed the dirt road. Within a mile, she came to a fork in the road.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me!" Peyton yelled at no one in particular. Her heart was pounding faster than medically possible.

She knew that every second wasted was one more second that the maniac could hurt her best friend. Peyton was livid. Her fear had been replaced with the animated fury of a protective sister. She calmed only slightly to get a better thought process going. As she did she noticed that only one of the roads had tire tracks on it.

She looked to the ceiling of the truck, "Thank you God. Thank you so much."

She accelerated slowly. She wanted to get to Brooke, but she didn't want to risk getting both of them caught and killed by their psycho stalker. When she finally found her Mercury in the moonlight she pulled to the side of the dirt road and quietly got out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brooke watched him as he watched Peyton, "She's an idiot, your friend. Typical blonde. Doesn't think for one second that I'd be looking for her to follow me."

Brooke looked down at the floor. The light in the room was dim, but she could easily see what looked like claw marks in the wood slats of the cabin floor. "Please don't hurt her."

The stranger laughed, "I won't. At least, not at first. I'll tie her up and make sure she sees every thing I'm going to do to you first."

Brooke's stomach knotted and her forehead was beaded with sweat. She felt faint. She thought she was simply scared and disgusted, but it wasn't just that. She remembered that she hadn't had her insulin in hours. As another wave of fatigue and sickness hit her out of the blue, she staved it off by beginning to scream.

"PEYTON!!!! HE KNOWS YOU'RE HERE!!!!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Peyton stopped immediately. She had heard Brooke's words and it had halted her motion immediately. She scanned her surroundings wishing there was a way to let the police know which way she had gone. It was then that she remembered the cell phone in the Mercury. It had gotten no signal for most of their trip. Peyton knew the chances were slim of her getting a signal now, but she also knew it was a chance worth taking. She crouched low and made her way to her car listening for any evidence that the psycho was coming.

She realized Brooke wasn't screaming any more. She cringed at the realization that he had made her quiet. She didn't want to know how.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Her face stung as she shook off the blow he had delivered to her cheek. He backhanded her again and she fell to the floor, this time, blood trickled from her lips.

"Don't ruin my game Brooke."

She hated that he used her name. She hated him. She hated everything. She even hated Jason and Lucas for leaving her and Peyton alone. As he looked at her menacingly she realized how very alone she was.

"I'm going to deal with her then I'm coming back for you. Got it?"

He kissed Brooke long and hard before dragging her by the hair to the kitchen and handcuffing her hand to a pipe beneath the sink. He wrapped duct tape around her head and mouth securing it in place. She flinched and kicked as he kissed her once again.

She thought about Peyton and wondered if she had heard her warning. She wondered if Peyton had called the police. She wondered a lot of things, but mostly she wondered why Peyton had risked her own life to save her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She scanned the car quickly for blood or any sign of injury to Brooke and found nothing. It relieved her fears ever so slightly. Peyton froze as she heard the faint sound of wood on wood. A door closed. She popped open the glove box and reached inside. She grabbed the cell phone and was surprised to see it had power. There was no signal.

She dialed 911 and hit send. She knew it would not go through, but she hoped maybe there would be a chance that a signal would come up. She wanted to be able to dial quickly. She moved away from the car and hid in some brush nearby. She damned the moon for being so bright. She knew, however, that had it not been for the brightness, she would never have been able to find Brooke.

She saw him standing at the still open door of the Comet. Her breathing was shallow, her pulse thick. She saw that she was closer to the cabin than he was. She also knew that going inside would be a death trap. He turned in her direction and then continued to scan the surroundings.

Peyton felt his eyes moving away from her so she took the chance to make a quiet dash into the cabin.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Brooke's wrist was hurting. She imagined breaking her thumb to free herself from the cuffs. She knew she didn't have what it takes to do it. The tears were mere distractions of her current state of fear. They fell harder when the backdoor opened and closed revealing a frantic Peyton.

"Oh God. Brooke!" Peyton whispered as she saw her friend, shaking and pale, restrained and bleeding.

Brooke shook her head. She knew the stranger would come back. It was all a lure. Peyton would come to Brooke and he knew it. Brooke couldn't make her understand. It was too late. He was there, behind her in a flash. Peyton turned just in time to catch the brute force of a tire iron. She fell to the floor with a thud and the stranger chuckled. Not a bit out of breath. Not an ounce unnerved. Not for one second swayed. He eyed Brooke. He was going to do exactly what he had wanted to do from the moment he laid eyes on her.


	8. Surrender

Chapter 7

Brooke screamed as the stranger ripped at her shirt and then her shorts. She felt herself drifting back to freshman year. Her vision blurred with tears and with the dizziness of low blood sugar. Insulin. If she had insulin she could fight harder. The thoughts ravaged her mind as he continued to try to undress her. Brooke wasn't making it easy for him.

His lip and nose were bleeding from a head-butt. Brooke's forehead was cut slightly, but she felt as though it was worth it. IT had slowed him slightly. Long enough for her to think. Her situation seemed futile. She knew what he was going to do to her. Her shirt had been torn. Her shorts were being undone.

Brooke didn't want to go through it all over again. She thought of Peyton, the blood that had instantly appeared as the stranger had struck her with the makeshift weapon. She needed Peyton, but she knew Peyton was going to leave her alone again. This time maybe forever.

XXXXXXXXX

Peyton's head ached. She could feel the warmth of blood on her cheek. She could smell its coppery scent. She could hear a struggle, crying. She found it difficult to open her eyes, but when she finally did, she could see Brooke beneath the stranger. She could tell the brunette had been freed from the handcuffs, and put under a more tortuous restraint. That of a lustful deviant.

Peyton breathed softly, slowly. Her head throbbed, but her shoulder ached worse. It was then that she remembered the brunt of the blow had been to her shoulder with only part of the tire iron striking her head. She scanned the kitchen for a weapon more efficient than the tire iron. She knew she would be no match for the stranger when it came to physical strength.

She saw the knife in the dish drainer on the counter by the sink. Right above the stranger and Brooke. Peyton was still quiet. She felt the urgency to move, knowing that if she took much longer, Brooke would be reliving a hell far worse than any she had ever imagined.

Peyton slid her hand through the blood on the floor, her own blood, and grasped the tire iron. She would have to be quick if she were to strike before he was aware of her consciousness. She inhaled deeply and silently. In a quick steady motion she pushed herself up and hoisted the tire iron into the air. The stranger had still not noticed Peyton. He was too entranced in assaulting Brooke.

Peyton brought the tire iron down hard into the back of the man's head. She then grabbed the knife from the counter before he could fight back and thrust it into his back. He fell limply on top of Brooke.

XXXXXXXXX

Brooke was screaming again. She was crying harder than she ever had before. She quit moving when she realized that he had quit moving. She pushed at him and was surprised to see Peyton standing there with a hand held out wanting to help her up.

Brooke took it quickly and hugged Peyton. Peyton returned the embrace for a mere second before speaking.

"We've got to get the hell out of here."

Brooke nodded and they ran out of the cabin and to the Mercury. They heard sirens quickly approaching.

"It's the cops," Peyton reassured Brooke.

Brooke's shoulders sagged with the weight of the evening's terrors, "Thank God."

They watched the cabin and saw no motion, so they waited for the police vehicles to park. Within minutes the cabin was surrounded by local police as well as a few state troopers.

"Peyton Sawyer?" One of the officers asked.

Peyton raised her hand slightly ignoring the shooting pains in her shoulder, "That's me."

He began to listen to Peyton and Brooke's story as the other officers went inside the cabin to apprehend the stranger. Peyton was the only voice filling the officer in on the events of the previous days. Brooke was too busy watching the doors to the cabin. Peyton could feel her shaking beside her. Her pale face and hazel eyes spoke volumes enough.

The officer could see it too. He radioed for an ambulance after looking over Peyton's head wound and taking note of Brooke's torn clothes and cut forehead. It seemed as though the other police had been in the cabin forever, but it had only been minutes. The front door slammed open and a younger looking uniformed officer stepped onto the porch.

"There's no one in here, Chief."

Peyton and Brooke both tensed. The stranger was gone, without a trace. The officer they had been talking to happened to be the Chief of police. He led them quickly to his car and placed them inside. He cancelled the ambulance call and got in the car himself. Another officer got into the passenger side of the car. He looked back at Brooke and Peyton and tried to smile reassuringly, but it managed to look more like a dopey grin.

Peyton and Brooke sat so close to one another that they could have been one person. Brooke still hadn't said a word. She was too tired, too confused, too scared, and too pissed off to say anything. Where did he go?

Within forty minutes they were sitting in an emergency room at the local hospital. They had given their statements once again on the way. The Chief wanted no mistakes in the case. He informed the girls that he had been trying to catch the stranger for years.

"Seriously?" Peyton had asked. "He lived under your noses this whole time and you couldn't catch him?"

The chief simply shrugged. He could understand the blonde's animosity. He left Brooke and Peyton alone in an exam room and went to make some calls to the station. The doctor came into the room.

"Sorry it took so long. I'm the only doctor on staff tonight. We have two nurses, and only three other patients. One was a broken leg that needed to be set. That's what I was doing."

Brooke frowned. She realized how empty the hospital was, "Is it always so dark in here?"

Peyton hadn't noticed it until Brooke's question, but the halls and the entire emergency room seemed dim at best. The fluorescents were only half on.

The doctor smiled sincerely, "If they can only afford one doctor on duty at a time, do you think they're going to waste money on unnecessary lighting?"

Peyton and Brooke felt like they were in eternal hell. Darkness was the stranger's friend, not theirs.

"Could you hurry up and get this over with. We want to catch the first flight out of here." Peyton was abrupt. She was tired of games and of wasting time. She wanted to get Brooke out of harm's way.

The doctor rolled her eyes not aware of the terror the girls had been through, "Alright. How about you first."

She pointed at Peyton, and Peyton sat on the table. The doctor looked at the gash in her head and then looked over her shoulder.

She finally said, "Let's get you stitched up then we'll send you to x-ray for that shoulder. Could be fractured."

Peyton shook her head, "Go ahead and stitch my head, but I'll wait until I get back home for the x-ray."

The look in Brooke's eyes told her that her best friend was thinking the same thing. The stranger was out there and he was probably more pissed than ever. The doctor shrugged and began the painful process of stitching the wound in Peyton's head. Peyton grimaced with every stitch but not one tear had fallen.

Brooke was next. The doctor looked her over and diagnosed her as fine with the exception of a small cut on her forehead and some deep bruising. She put a piece of surgical tape on the cut and announced that she was finished.

Brooke was about to ask a question when there was a scream from down the hall and the power went out. Peyton felt Brooke put herself tightly against her side. She didn't blame her. She was scared too.

The doctor saw their fear, "Don't worry. That was probably the car accident victim brought in just before you, and as for the power, the generator should kick in right about now."

Like magic the generator did kick on leaving their room and the hallways beyond even darker than before. Brooke and Peyton weren't sure what to do next. They were supposed to wait for the chief to come back, but they began to wonder if the stranger had found him first.

The doctor left them alone in the exam room. Brooke whispered, almost in a panicked stutter, "What in the hell should we do?"

"I don't know," Peyton answered honestly, "But I do know that was him and we're not waiting here like sitting ducks. Let's go."

They made their way to the door and into the hall. The far end, near the check-in area was quiet and empty. No one was anywhere to be seen. Their hearts pounded to the same rhythm; that of fear.

Slowly they walked toward the check-in area. They were mostly relieved when they first saw the uniformed officer who had ridden to the ER with them and the chief. He was standing at the end of the hall, that dopey half-smile on his face.

They were relieved until he fell to the ground and revealed the evil, hungry glare of the stranger. In his hand was the knife, the same knife Peyton had used to stab him. He had killed the officer with it. As far as Peyton and Brooke knew, everyone was dead. And they were next.


	9. The 23rd Psalm

Chapter 8

It was like a vicious, murderous game of 'who blinks first' as Peyton, Brooke and the stranger stared one another down in the barely lit hallway of the hospital. Peyton looked away first, not worried about losing that game, as much as losing the game of life.

A door, marked stairs, to their left beckoned her to grab Brooke and go. Brooke went willingly as the stranger broke into a sprint toward them. The door was jammed. Brooke heard their stalker chuckle slightly at their misfortune.

Peyton was still trying to open the door with the thrown force of her good shoulder when the stranger barreled into Brooke knocking her to the floor and sending her breath into a non-existent state. Peyton turned in time to catch a backhand to the jaw sending her backwards.

"Hello girls. Did you miss me?" He was smiling as though he was at a party and it made Peyton want to kill him…again.

Peyton struggled to shake the cobwebs out of her visions, while he grabbed Brooke off the floor and slammed her against the door Peyton had been trying to open. Brooke groaned in pain. Peyton could see her dark-haired friend trying to be strong, brave, and courageous. She could also see the fear and pain coursing throughout her shaking body.

So could the stranger. Peyton pushed herself off the ground as he began to rip at Brooke's shirt again. He was relentless and he intended to do to Brooke what he had been wanting to do all along. Peyton felt her shoulder give and knew it was broken, even if it hadn't been before.

She ignored the radical pain and threw herself into the stranger. The door popped open and the three brawlers rolled through it and immediately tumbled together down the stairs that lay immediately beyond.

It was silent for a few seconds before Brooke regained her vision and she instantly began to call for Peyton. The three of them were lying entangled at the bottom of the stairs. Brooke's eyes adjusted to the candlelight illumination of the stairwell fluorescents. It was darker than in the rest of the hospital.

"Peyton?" Brooke asked aloud.

Peyton grunted slightly trying still to shake off the pain in her shoulder. The new bumps and bruises were nothing, "I'm here."

Their eyes, growing accustomed to the dark sought out the stranger. He was completely still, but Peyton and Brooke could see the rise and fall of his chest. The knife was nowhere to be seen. Peyton was the first to her feet. She pulled Brooke up by the arm and was met with resistance as Brooke's leg gave way to the pain she had not previously felt.

"Brooke?"

Brooke's tears sparkled in the dim lighting, "It's broken. My leg is broken."

"I'm not leaving you here with him, Brooke and I'm not about to stay so let's go."

With steel resolve, Brooke moved. She bit her lip to stop from screaming with pain. Peyton hated that it had all happened. She hated they were both in physical pain. She hated that they were both in emotional pain and more than anything she hated that Lucas and Jason had thought this make-up road trip would be such a great idea.

They moved out of the stairwell, hoping to find an exit. It was another corridor, but Peyton and Brooke quickly realized they were in the basement, in an underground part of the hospital. Peyton was the first to hear him slowly getting up a floor above them.

"Move Brooke," Peyton whispered frantically as she held Brooke around the waist. "He's coming."

"I'm trying, Peyton. Maybe you should go with out me," Her leg was throbbing sending shooting signals of pain throughout her entire body.

"Not an option, Brooke."

They stumbled together into the first unlocked door they came to. Brooke's stomach lurched and Peyton's heart grew cold as they realized where they were.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

He laughed at their tenacity. None of the others had ever been so much fun before. He body checked himself and discovered that other than a stiff neck and sore head, he was uninjured from the trip down the stairs.

He descended the steps one by one. The smell of fear was strong. He was amazed at the lack of staff in the hospital. It seemed almost abandoned to him. It was a big playground of sharp instruments and death.

He stepped out onto the basement level and looked both ways. There was only one exit from this place and he knew they didn't know which direction to go to find it. He turned left. The first unlocked door he came to was the answer he had been looking for.

He pushed open the door and moved inside softly closing the door behind him.

"Come out come out where ever you are," he grinned.

He had no weapon but knew that against two fresh out of high school girls he wouldn't need one. He looked from table to table, sheet to sheet. The morgue.

"How perfect," he thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Peyton's hand was shaking and she prayed that he wouldn't see the sheet trembling. It was one of the two empty tables in the room. Brooke and Peyton had decided to play dead. She had helped Brooke onto a table before hoisting herself up on one. Before she had hidden she had taken one precious thing with her. She had deemed it her last chance.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brooke was miraculously calm. Not relaxed or unafraid, but still. Her hands did not tremble. Her breath was shallow. The thought crossed her mind that perhaps she was going into shock. She no longer cared. She was tired of being terrorized, afraid. She knew that if she and Peyton made it out of this alive, their friendship would be stronger than any on the planet. She also knew that if they made it out alive then she was going to prosecute Frank Howard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He could almost hear her thinking. She was perfectly still and yet he knew exactly which one she was. He scanned the room and found the instruments table. He picked up a sharpened shining scalpel and felt happy. He raised it above his head. She was going to die now.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Peyton sensed it. She sensed that it was about to happen. She prepared her lifesaver and held her breath. Now was the time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brooke could see his form through the sheet. His arm was raised. He was ready for the kill. She didn't want to die, but there was no physical fight left in her. She had wondered since the day of diagnosis what a diabetic coma would feel like. She was getting to find out. She held her breath. Now was the time to die.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Before he could bring the scalpel down into the soft form of Brooke Davis, he heard an angry voice behind him.

"Time to die, asshole."

He didn't know why he never heard her get off the table. Peyton was standing a mere foot from him. A skull saw ready to go in both of her hands for steadiness. He never had a chance to drop his raised hand. She drove the saw into his chest and didn't let go until she knew it had penetrated the ribs and chewed up his heart. He was dead.

Peyton was almost surprised to see him drop to the ground, eyes wide open. Death had consumed him.

She lifted the sheet off Brooke slowly not wanting to scare her. Brooke was lying, face up tears streaming from her beautiful hazel eyes. She looked as though she was in another world. And as Peyton tried to get her to look at her, she knew her best friend was in another world.

"Brooke," Peyton's voice was soft, calm. "Come on Brooke. It's all over. Come on."

Nothing.

Peyton pulled Brooke up to a sitting position and sat next to her. She laid Brooke's head back down on her lap. Her shoulder sagged with the weight of the motions but she didn't admit to the pain. Somewhere in the distance there were sirens upon sirens. Maybe someone had been left alive in the emergency room.

Peyton looked down at Brooke and saw a little life left there. She knew that it wasn't just the diabetes. She knew where Brooke had gone. She knew the brunette had visited the place where it was okay to die. Brooke was coming back to her though. She showed it in the way she finally made contact with Peyton. Peyton whispered to Brooke that it was over, and Brooke closed her eyes. She just wanted to sleep.

They sat that way for half an hour before anyone found them. It was the police chief. He had survived. His arm was in a sling but he was alive, and well. The swarm of emergency personnel and police didn't faze the two girls as they continued to sit still. Peyton let them look Brooke over carefully and then they looked at her shoulder. They talked of x-rays and splints and casts and they talked about two girls who were heroes…but Peyton and Brooke they were just happy to be safe. At least as safe as two girls could be in this psychotic world.

Eventually they were removed from the table upon which they had taken refuge and moved into an ambulance. They were being moved to the state hospital two hours away. Lucas and Jason had been notified by one of the state troopers. They were on a flight to the girls already.

They were taken from the ambulance and put in a room together. The emergency room doctors and nurses did not dare separate them after hearing what they had been through together. They took care of Brooke first. Peyton had held her hand while the leg was set and the cast put on. They administered insulin and took care of her diabetic needs. Brooke finally spoke.

"It's bright in here…and busy. I like bright. I like busy."

Peyton had smiled. She knew exactly where Brooke was coming from. Brooke's sense of humor was still there. A little weary and worn, but there nonetheless. Maybe the stranger wouldn't haunt them forever. Just maybe.

Peyton's procedures were a little more difficult. She would need surgery to repair the tendons in her shoulder. Peyton didn't want to be sedated and she didn't want to leave Brooke.

"Can she be in surgery with me?" Peyton asked hopefully.

The doctor shook his head, "She can't be in there. It has to be a sterile environment. But we can hold off another hour or so, until your boyfriends get here. Then they can stay with your friend. How about that?"

Peyton hated that idea. She knew Brooke would be safe with Jason and Lucas, but she was mad at them. She blamed them. She laid in the same bed as Brooke until finally Jason and Luke came through the door. The blame and anger melted away immediately and gave way to sobs. Both she and Brooke were relieved to see them. They were tired of being strong and brave and of having to fight for their lives. They just wanted to be held and taken care of.

Lucas felt the guilt turn his stomach as he took Peyton into his arms. He took note of the slight limp from the sprained ankle of earlier and the ginger way she held her shoulder in the sling. He counted every bruise, cut and scratch. His anger gave way to pure fear. Knowing he had almost lost her. He hated himself for leaving them alone out there.

Jason was feeling the same. He crawled in the bed with Brooke and gently kissed her forehead near the surgical tape that held together the skin where she had the small cut. He cried as much as she did. It relieved Peyton. Brooke was safe with Jason. She knew h e was a good man. Brooke could trust him, with everything. The question was, would she?

"Oh God, baby, I am so sorry," Jason sobbed, "If I thought for a second you would have been in any danger, I never would have left you."

Brooke said nothing, she just cried. Peyton and Lucas sat together on the other bed in the room. Despite knowing Brooke was safe, Peyton didn't want to leave the room. Eventually the doctor came in and announced that it was time for Peyton's surgery.

The nurse with the wheelchair, Jason, and Luke stood to the side as Brooke and Peyton spoke quietly.

"You know I love you right B. Davis?" Peyton brushed some of Brooke's hair from her forehead.

Brooke smiled slightly, "You better P. Sawyer. Now that we've been through hell and back I'm not ever going to feel right being away from you."

"Isn't that a little co-dependent?" Peyton grinned.

Brooke shrugged, "Who gives a damn? Truth is you saved me…a lot. You were there for me Peyton. I need you now more than ever."

"Ditto, BFF," Peyton kissed Brooke's forehead. "Okay, "I'm going to go get some drugs in my system, get this shoulder taken care of and then we're going to talk about all this."

"Do we have to?" Brooke frowned, "I mean, you killed the son of a bitch. What's left to say?"

"Well…if you need me now more than ever, and you can be away from me, then we need to figure out which college we're going to," Peyton winked at her.

Brooke nodded, "Oh. Well that we can talk about."

Peyton didn't want to let go of her hand. They were now bound together by an experience far from anything they had endured in the past. But she did let go and was relieved when Jason's hand filled the spot where her hand had just been and Lucas' occupied her now empty hand.

"Let's go," Peyton said as she looked at the nurse.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

THREE MONTHS LATER:

Peyton and Brooke healed well from their injuries. They had endured night after night of sleeping terrors, only to comfort one another upon waking. They shared Nathan and Haley's old apartment. They were starting Duke University together. They continued to date Lucas and Jason and talked of marrying them and living in houses next door to one another someday.

Their thoughts were still heavy on that ill-fated road trip. They had been privy to the body count and it had not been imaginable. Each day they grew stronger and distanced from the horrors of those days. Their nights were plagued by him. The stranger. But their days were now filling up with smiles and laughter, hugs and love. Peyton and Brooke had both beat death. And they shiver at Psalm 23:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,  
I will fear no evil.

Brooke and Peyton had been next to evil. They had been kissed by it, hit by it, nearly killed by it. They now know better than anyone that evil dwells in the shadow of death, and to fear it, is to give in to it. So beware on those lonesome dark highways, for you never know when evil is shadowing you.

THE END


End file.
